


archer

by Rehearsal_Dweller



Series: Twin Trade AU [7]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Gen, takes place in two universes simultaneously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-19
Updated: 2015-06-19
Packaged: 2018-04-05 02:59:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4163088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rehearsal_Dweller/pseuds/Rehearsal_Dweller
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"...how can everything be so amazing and so terrible at the same time?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	archer

**Author's Note:**

> So I was minding my own business, planning the next chapter of the Stuff of Legend and drawing a lot, when I stopped to think about what would happen after the end of Falling Hard.  
> This is that, because I'm terrible.  
> (It's half in the Twin Trade parallel universe, half in the prime universe, and jumps between Orion and Mabel's POVs.)

_It’s probably for the best that I’m about to go to college, because my best friend is literally gone forever now._

Orion Northwest stood outside the Mystery Shack, mentally attempting to compose a good explanation for his sudden lack of Mabels. He raised his hand to knock, then hesitated, letting it fall back to his side.

Intellectually, Orion knew that the Pineses had always known – hoped, even – that something like this might happen, so it was unlikely that they’d be too angry once Orion actually explained himself. That said, he was pretty sure he’d be _making_ that explanation from one of the containment rooms by video feed.

(Mabel’s great uncles could be… protective.)

After standing on the front step for a good twenty minutes, Orion started to pace.

“Mr Pines, Mabel’s twin brother from an alternate universe tore a hole in the fabric of _our_ universe, and –“ he muttered, then paused, running his hands through his hair. “Mr Pines, your great niece is never – she’s gone, probably forever – see we were on our way home from my house and she disappeared?”

He flopped onto the ground, throwing his arms over his face. “This is going to be a disaster.”

\--

Dipper and Mabel walked in silence for a while, following more or less the same path that Mabel had been on with Orion, wandering back toward the Mystery Shack.

“So… who’s Orion?”

“Like, my best friend,” replied Mabel, flipping her backpack onto her shoulder. “We went to prom together. But, like, as friends, you know?”

“Yeah, I do, actually,” Dipper said. “I went with Pacifica Northwest. She’s the one who gave me the idea on how to get you home.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “That’s actually why I’m even _in_ Gravity Falls this weekend. I should – I should probably call her.”

Mabel snorted, elbowing him. “You ran out on her when you had your idea, didn’t you?”

“Not – not _right_ away,” Dipper answered self-consciously.

“S’better than Ursa would’ve managed, I bet,” said Mabel, laughing. “So how is Pacifica, anyway? How are _you_? You look healthy enough,” she poked his chest a few times, “I worried, you know? And you shaved your scruffy little beard!”

“Pacifica’s pretty great lately. And I am, too, for real,” replied Dipper. “Wait – how did you even _know_ that I had –“

“Uuuuursa,” Mabel reminded him, bumping her shoulder against his. “She always updated me on how you were when you two had your little sleepy-time chats.”

“Right, of course,” said Dipper. “She didn’t always know what you were up to, though.”

“Well, I _was_ in Oregon.”

“Yeah.”

Mabel bumped him again. “Bwap.”

Dipper scrunched up his nose. “Why do you keep doing that?”

“Doing what, bro-bro?” asked Mabel.

“You keep –“ he waved a hand, clearly trying to order his thoughts, “- you keep touching me. Why?”

“If it’s bothering you, I’ll stop,” Mabel said immediately.

“No, it’s okay, I just – don’t understand. Did you always do that?”

Mabel shrugged. “Kinda. But, like, you’re _there_! You! I’m just tryin’ to wrap my head around it.”

\--

“Orion?”

He threw his arms out to the sides, and found himself looking up at Mabel’s Great Uncle Ford. “Oh. Hey, Mr Pines.”

“Dare I ask why you’re laying in my yard?” Ford asked.

“Don’t kill me.”

“I, uh – what?”

Orion pushed himself up onto his elbows. “Mabel’s gone.”

“ _What_?” snapped Ford, suddenly tense and almost scared.

“We were on our way here, and Dipper –“

Ford relaxed instantly. “She’s safe, then.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” replied Orion, flopping backwards again. “But she’s still gone.”

Ford frowned, then offered a hand to Orion. “Come on, get up. You can go – I don’t know, play with the pig for a while. It might make you feel better.”

“I thought for sure you were gonna eat me alive for losing her,” Orion said once he was back on his feet.

“Not really my style,” Ford replied, laughing. “But I can’t speak for my brother.”

\--

As she pushed open the kitchen door, Mabel opened her mouth to call for her Grunkles, then caught herself. Wrong Grunkles, wrong Shack.

“Hey, Stans!” Dipper shouted, “We’re home!”

 _“Who’s ‘we’?”_ Lee – er, Stan? – called back from a few rooms away.

“Mabel’s here!”

For a moment, there was no response. Then Mabel heard the sound of two people running through the house, before the Stans exploded into the kitchen one after the other.

“Mabel!”

She gave a tiny wave. “Heeey, Stans.”

Stan _ley_ – hereafter referred to as ‘gramps’ for the sake of clarity – pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. “I’m so, so sorry, Mabel.”

“It’s okay, L- Stan,” Mabel replied once he’d released her and she’d caught her breath again. “What’s done is done. I forgive you.”

\--

Mabel’s room didn’t look like the bedroom of someone who was gone forever. Rather, it looked like she’d just run out to the store or off to school, like she’d be coming back any minute now if Orion only had the patience to wait.

There was still makeup strewn all around the desk, and a pile of unwashed laundry on the opposite bed. Sitting open on Mabel’s bed was her senior year scrapbook, open to the half-finished prom pages.

Orion sat down on the bed and picked up the scrapbook; careful not to dislodge anything that wasn’t stuck down yet. There was only one photo on the page so far – they’d probably taken a hundred last night, but obviously Mabel wasn’t going to get a chance to add them – from the day Orion had asked her to go with him. They’d actually agreed to go to the dance together privately ahead of time, but then staged the most ridiculous, over-the-top promposal ever seen by GFHS. Orion laughed, picking up the photo. That was only a few weeks ago – _how could that have been just a few weeks ago?_

Waddles waddled over and nudged Orion’s foot with his snout. Orion set the scrapbook aside and scratched the top of the pig’s head. “Heya, Waddles. You lookin’ for May?”

Waddles snorted.

“Yeah,” said Orion. “Me, too.”

\--

“Hey, Stanford,” said Mabel, fussing with the ends of her hair. “I’m Mabel.”

“I’ve noticed,” replied Stanford.

“This is weird,” Mabel said. She shook her head, trying to clear it. “This is weird. It’s like, I know you. But I don’t know you. See, I’ve been living in Gravity Falls –“

“With Lee and Ford,” Stanford said, nodding. “I assumed as much. I do have a lot in common with my counterpart, but like Ursa and Dipper, or, presumably, you and Max…”

“Not everything,” finished Mabel.

Stanford nodded again. “We do seem to be on the same footing, at least. I know Max, and you know Ford, so it will all be a question of learning the differences.”

“Yeah.” Mabel pulled a chair out from the table and sat down. “Wow, I hadn’t thought of that.”

“I think we’ll have a lot to talk about once you’re settled in.”

\--

It was dark before it occurred to Orion that he should probably call Ursa and Max. He was quite sure that Lee and Ford would manage dealing with the school, would maybe call Max and Ursa’s parents, even, but deep down he knew that explaining to their peers would fall to him.

Ursa answered on the second ring. “ _What’s up, Archer?”_

“ET’s gone home,” Orion replied as he flipped through Mabel’s 8th grade scrapbook.

“ _For real? You’re kidding!”_ said Ursa. “ _I just talked to Dipper, like, last week!”_

“He showed up this morning when I was walking May home, and now she’s back in the other universe.”

_“Dude, that’s awesome!”_

“Yeah, pretty awesome.”

“ _Oh my god, are you – “_ there was a crash somewhere on Ursa’s end, and she cursed loudly. “ _Max, what the fuck? I’m on the phone!”_ Orion heard Max’s voice, but couldn’t make out the words. “ _\- Orion. He says Mabel’s gone home!”_

“ _That’s awesome!_ ” said Max’s (still distant, but now perfectly clear) voice. “ _Hi, ‘Rion!”_

Orion smiled. “Tell Max I say hi back.”

“ _He says hi back, Maxie.”_ Ursa paused. “ _’Ri, are you okay?”_

“Yeah, of course,” Orion said, pausing briefly to look more closely at a picture of their 8th grade graduation party. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“ _Well you and May are, like, best friends.”_

“She’s not dead,” replied Orion, shrugging. “I figure it could be worse.” He sighed, leaning against the wall. “When are you guys coming up for the summer again?”

Ursa laughed. “ _Well, we’re still coming up for your graduation, but then we’ve got to come home for_ our _graduation. We head up there to stay on the 6 th.”_

“That’s, what? Three weeks?” said Orion. “I can make it three weeks.”

\--

Mabel stood in the attic bedroom and suddenly found herself unable to catch her breath.

She’d been here just yesterday, but she hadn’t. There were no posters on the walls, no scrapbooks or makeup or schoolbooks. Her bed was utterly empty – the mattress didn’t even have any sheets.

She let out a choked laugh. _Not again, this can’t be happening again._

“Mabel, are you okay?” Dipper asked, hesitantly touching her shoulder. “You’re _really_ pale. Maybe you should sit down.”

Mabel flinched away, shaking her head frantically. “No, I - I need to get out of this house. I’ll, uh. I’ll come back later, I promise.”

And with that, she darted out the bedroom door and ran through the house as fast as she could.

It wasn’t until she found herself staring at the side entrance to the grounds of Northwest Mansion that it occurred to her that she didn’t actually have anywhere to go. She could hardly go inside, or even just camp out on the step – there wasn’t anyone here to help her.

Unconsciously, she dropped to her knees, taking a gasping, sobbing breath. Her eyes were stinging with tears, and there was pressure building in her sinuses. “I can’t do this again.”

\--

On the top of Mabel’s bookshelf sat Orion’s favourite book in her collection. She’d been working on it as long as he’d known her.

It was her Journal – like the ones Ursa and their great uncle kept. Only in between profiles of unusual creatures and notes on experiments were pages about all of their friends, written in the same faux-serious style.

Orion’s own page was his favourite. There were actually several, spread across the book and added to on Mabel’s whims, but the first one was the best. It had six photos of the two of them together, one for each year they’d known each other.

She was planning to replace the most recent one with their dorkiest prom photo, but–

He slammed the book shut and tossed it at the pillow.

 _I’m just upsetting myself_.

He stood up, running his fingers through his hair. It was getting late, he should really be getting home.

\--

“Oh my god, Mabel?” a girl’s voice said, breaking through the fog of weirdness in Mabel’s head. “Mabel Pines?”

Mabel squeezed her eyes tight, then opened them, blinking a few times at the speaker. “Pacifica?”

“Mabel!” Pacifica exclaimed, dropping to her knees. “You’re alive! He did it!”

Mabel nodded.

“Are you okay?”

Mabel shook her head.

“Here, come inside,” said Pacifica. She pulled Mabel to her feet and gently directed her into the building. Once she’d arranged Mabel on a comfortable chair in her ‘study’ and brought up hot chocolate for the both of them, she said, “Now, what’s eating you?”

Mabel sipped her hot chocolate. “I lived in Gravity Falls in the other universe. It took me a while to adjust to everything, but I was there for six years, y’know? It was home. And now I’m back here, and I got into the attic and it was just like – I don’t know if I can do that again.”

“You do want to be here, though,” said Pacifica. “Don’t you?”

“Of course I do.” She picked at the hem of her t-shirt. “Dipper – _this_ is my home.”


End file.
